This week marks National Medical Laboratory Professionals Week.
OPSEU represents more than 6,000 medical laboratory professionals.
These are the people doctors turn to when they are looking for answers about your health. They sort, analyze and perform tests on samples that help physicians provide you with a more accurate diagnosis.
“It’s important to have a week to recognize these individuals and their invaluable contribution to our health care,” says Sara Labelle, chair of the Hospital Professionals Division of OPSEU. “Medical laboratory professionals are the third largest health care professional group, after doctors and nurses. Without lab results, your doctor is only guessing. Lab professionals are responsible for providing doctors with 83 per cent of their diagnoses. And their work is only increasing in importance because of advances in technology. We are at a point now where we can use lab tests not only to diagnose, but to tailor specific treatments to specific individuals,” says Labelle.
“OPSEU is proud to represent these hard-working and dedicated individuals whose role in our health care system is becoming more important than ever,” says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “We should all recognize and appreciate their impact on patient care, not only this week but every single time we need a lab test.”